The fraction of photosynthetically assimilated carbon that trees allocate to long-lasting woody biomass pools (biomass production efficiency - BPE), is a key metric of the forest carbon balance. Its apparent simplicity belies the complex interplay between underlying processes of photosynthesis, respiration, litter and fruit production, and tree growth that respond differently to climate variability. Whereas the magnitude of BPE has been routinely quantified in ecological studies, its temporal dynamics and responses to extreme events such as drought remain less well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was aimed at assessing the efficacy and safety of inositol nutritional supplementation during pregnancy for the prevention of GDM. PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane library were systematically searched for randomized controlled trails (RCTs) in this field until May 2022. Primary outcomes were the incidence for GDM and plasma glucose levels by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUncertainties surrounding tree carbon allocation to growth are a major limitation to projections of forest carbon sequestration and response to climate change. The prevalence and extent to which carbon assimilation (source) or cambial activity (sink) mediate wood production are fundamentally important and remain elusive. We quantified source-sink relations across biomes by combining eddy-covariance gross primary production with extensive on-site and regional tree ring observations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere have been vociferous calls for 'tree-centered' vegetation models to refine predictions of forest carbon (C) cycling. Unfortunately, our global survey at flux-tower sites indicates insufficient empirical data support for this much-needed model development. We urge for a new generation of studies across large environmental gradients that strategically pair long-term ecosystem monitoring with manipulative experiments on mature trees.
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